Who is Allen Buhay and why should you get to know a little bit more about this chef?
He is the executive chef and partner at Wildflour Group, overseeing the day-to-day operations of all its branches, and the newly opened Wildflour Italian.
Allen started cooking professionally in California, USA when he was just 17 years old. He had spent a lot of time in the kitchen prior to this pivotal moment in time, bonding with his mom and grandmother. These two Kapampangan women taught him the basics and served as inspiration for a young Allen growing up in the Philippines.
It was in California though where he learned the importance of being ingredient-driven, basing food off of nature and local farmers. He was trained to do things ingredients first. To look at gorgeous fresh produce and then build your menu from there. From then on, his mantra became, freshness first. “I am all about putting local produce first” shares Allen. He is happy to see that more people in the Philippine food industry over time are following suit.
This chef earned his degree at Le Cordon Blue, worked at Jean-Georges, and Church & State where he spent time working under his superstar mento, Chef Walter Manzke. Years of hustling in some of the busiest kitchens honed his skills and solidified his passion for food. After further sharpening his culinary talents, at the age of 25 Allen came back to the Philippines to help Walter and Margarita Manzke along with Ana De Ocampo open the mega successful Wildlfour, which has since become a staple in the Philippine dining scene.
Learn more about chef Allen Buhay, here:
Last three courses or three course meal?
Uni, foie gras, and a fatty steak.
What do you want to be known for?
I want to be known as one of the chefs that believed that we can cook depending on the farms in the Philippines. Six years ago they all thought we were crazy to source locally. But look at where we are now! Our advantage is that we have 15 restaurants with Wildlfour so we can support certain farmers in more ways than others can.